


Bump, Set, Ouch??

by Danger_Noodle_Chan



Category: ATEEZ (Band), Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Hwang Hyunjin is Whipped, Hwang Hyunjin is a Flirt, Kim Seungmin Is A FUCKIN FLIRT, M/M, Mentioned Jung Wooyoung, Mentioned Lee Minho | Lee Know, Mentioned NCT 127 Ensemble, Minor Injuries, NCT Dream comes out of nowhere xjixixjx, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Seungmin Is Best Volleyball Player, Seungmin loves Starbucks, Starbucks, Tags Are Hard, Volleyball, Waffles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22127029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danger_Noodle_Chan/pseuds/Danger_Noodle_Chan
Summary: It wasn't on Seungmin's bucket list to knock someone out by spiking a ball into the back of their head.But did it happen?Yes.Did he feel bad?Of course!He felt so bad that he felt compelled to stay by the stranger's side till he woke.
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 111
Collections: GOOD ASS FICS





	1. First Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Aka the Stray Kids Volleyball mix that no one asked for. Lmao enjoy

It wasn't on Seungmin's bucket list to knock someone out by spiking a ball into the back of their head. But did it happen? Yes. Did he feel bad? Of course. He felt so bad that he felt compelled to stay by the stranger's side till he woke. 

It was his team's 3rd game of the day and he was surprised that his legs and arms hadn't fallen off yet. He had woken up at 4AM, aka the Asscrack of Dawn, got on the team bus, ate breakfast, gotten his Starbucks, and arrived at the field house at 7. It was currently 2PM, meaning they had been in the gym for 8 hours straight. The bad thing was that their next game after their current one wasn't until 5PM, but the good thing was that during their break they could probably go out and get something to eat, and hopefully get some more Starbucks. 

The game was about to start and Seungmin was a bit nervous, which was unusual, but he shook it off and walked onto the court confidently. 

The other team was serving, which meant that Seungmin wasn't in at the moment. Instead, Wooyoung came in, taking his spot in the back row.

Watching wasn't as fun as playing, but watching his team was quite fun, hearing them call out their stupid nicknames for the hitting spots instead of the regular numbers and colors. 

Soon Seungmin was coming back in, finding his spot in the front row, hands up ready to block. 

The 1st set was over before he knew it, his team being the winners of that set. 

Their coach switched up their rotation. But Seungmin wasn't in the starting lineup for this set, which was a bit disappointing. Instead, Minho, an ambidextrous hitter, was taking his spot for the time being. 

The 2nd set started and Seungmin was a  _ tad  _ bit bored. First, he played with his water bottle for a bit, but he quickly got bored of that so he let his eyes wander the gym, searching for something or someone that looked interesting or entertaining. 

A few rotations later, he had seen a team doing gymnastics and fail, someone spike a ball at their partner's crotch, and someone drop their pizza. Nothing that interesting. 

Well, that was until he saw a team dressed in all black uniforms, the only things standing out being one of their hair and the bright, turquoise numbers and the words  **JYP Elites** .

While most of them had interesting hair styles and colors, one person in particular caught his eye. 

Number 20 wasn't bad looking at all. He wasn't the tallest member, he had a multitude of ear piercings and a nice jawline, and long blue-black hair that looked like the beginnings of a mullet. 

Seungmin had thought his team was extreme with the hair colors, Wooyoung going purple, Jeongin with the pink, and Minho turning into a smurf. But the other team seemed to like bright hair colors too. 

After watching the team walk off, he turned his focus back to the game at hand. "Yo, Jongho, what's the score?" Jongho leaned forward trying his best to see. "22 to 20. We're losing," he told Seungmin. Seungmin hummed his thanks before turning his attention back to the game. 

It seemed that they would be going on to a 3rd set, sadly. The score was 24 to 22. 

Their opponents scored on a spike that looked to be out but it was actually in.

Their team captain, Woojin, and their Coach now had to decide who would serve and who would receive the ball, again.

The coin was flipped, and their team was serving, which was a relief. 

As he walked onto the court, he saw some people from the Elite team come stand by the bleachers to watch their game. He didn't acknowledge their presence and got ready to play. 

The first few serves went over beautifully, all of them being aces, until the other team's coach called a timeout. 

"Keep it up Felix," their coach said as they came in for a huddle. "Let's bring this one home, I believe in y'all." They did their cheer and handshakes before going back out.

Felix only got out a few more serves before their opponents started returning them. 

The other team was pretty good at hitting, but they were still no match for Felix, their current Libero. His passes were perfect for Jeongin, and they had gotten many successful hits from those beautiful passes and sets. 

Seungmin had only spiked the ball once this entire game, so has to get Jeongin's attention. 

"Finnie!" Seungmin called out effectively getting Jeongin's attention. 

" _ Left, right, left, up! _ " Those four words always flowing through his mind when he had the opportunity to hit.

Now Seungmin knew he could hit hard, but not hard enough to send it flying right out of bounds and straight into the back of someone's head.

For the first few seconds, Seungmin was quite confused, but then everything clicked. Before he knew it, he was rushing towards the fallen guy, the 2 spectators from the Elites team hot on his heels. 

He couldn't see who he had hit clearly until he was kneeling in front of him. He moved the boy's hair from out of him face and Seungmin's brain short circuited

It was Number 20 from the Elites team. Well, Elite Cutie in Seungmin's mind. 

He unconsciously started staring at the cute boy's lips, just thinking about how soft and plump they looked. He felt so tempted to touch them, but he had to refrain himself.

Just as Seungmin was about to place his hand on Elite Cutie's neck to check his pulse, two people appeared behind him, their shadows blocking out the light.

Seungmin whipped his head around and was met with a pair of knees. He looked up and saw the two guys that were watching his game earlier, Numbers 3 and 23.

Number 23 was on the shorter side, but he also had multiple piercings which made him look a bit intimidating. Seungmin couldn't help but notice how unhealthy 23's blonde hair was, but it somehow seemed to fit him perfectly.

Number 3 was taller and he also had blonde hair but his looked a lot healthier. He also had a couple of piercings, and Seungmin was quite confused, but he kept his mouth shut. 

"I'm saying sorry in advance so I hope y'all won't kill me, but I know you guys saw me hit him, but it wasn't intentional, so please don't-" "Calm down, kid. We'll take him to the Infirmary, you're welcome to come with us." The shorter blonde said patting Seungmin on the shoulder. 

Seungmin stood up, his legs feeling partially numb from kneeling and playing. He looked around and was a bit surprised by the amount of people behind them. 

Seungmin's team, and their current opponents plus some more of the Elites team were all watching. 

He couldn't help but feel embarrassed and ashamed. He felt his cheeks flush red. He face palmed, which probably made him look stupid but he didn't care, he just wanted to take his mind off of the guilt he felt welling up inside him.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the crispy haired blonde carrying Elite Cutie in the direction of the Infirmary, the taller blonde trailing behind him. 

Seungmin was about to go after them but instead he had to tell his team that he wouldn't be finishing the game with them. 

"Woojin-Hyung, can you tell Coach that I won't finish this game?" Seungmin whispered to Woojin. "Wait why?" The older asked, looking a bit confused. 

"I'm going to wait for that guy to wake so I can apologize." And with that, Seungmin ran off to catch up with the two blondes.

"Hey, excuse me," he called trying to get the blondes' attention. 

"Ah, there you are. We had a feeling you would follow us," the taller blonde said turning around. The shorter blonde didn't try to socialize at all, keeping his brisk pace all they way to the Infirmary.

When they entered, they saw that it was mostly empty except for a few players getting ankles wrapped and fingers taped. 

The shorter blonde laid Elite Cutie down on one of the beds in the corner farthest from the door. Then, he turned to face Seungmin with a serious look on his face.

Seungmin opened his mouth to apologize but the shorter held up a hand, stopping him. 

"I know your sorry, but accidents happen? Right?" Seungmin nodded, looking down. "Plus, he's dealt with worse injuries that this, so don't panic," the short blonde spoke, a foreign accent coloring his words. 

The second sentence was a bit worrying but he decided not to comment on it.

"Hey, um, I don't know your names, so," Seungmin made some awkward gestures, hoping he wouldn't have to repeat himself. 

"Oh! I'm Chan," the short blonde, Chan, answered. "I'm Seonghwa and the kid you knocked out is Hyunjin," the taller said, coming out of nowhere with an ice pack in his hand. 

"Don't be too formal, I have a feeling this won't be the last time we see each other," Chan said before walking out, Seonghwa right behind him.

Seungmin didn't know if he was talking volleyball wise or up close and personal. He decided to avoid thinking of the topic for the time being as he pulled up a chair so he could sit next to Hyunjin. 

He propped his head up on his hand and looked around the room before his eyes landed on Hyunjin's lips. 

He really wanted to touch them, but instead, he settled on laying his head on the open spot next to Hyunjin's knee. 

He wasn't planning on falling asleep but apparently he did. That's what happens when you get up at 4AM and are surrounded by a bunch of loud boys without any alone time.

When he woke up, someone's hand was in his hair, softly massaging his scalp. 

He could've gone back to sleep, but he wanted to talk Elite Cutie-wait no, Hyunjin. 

He yawned quietly, and then the hand was gone from his head. He pretended not to notice as he quickly came back to his senses. 

"Hi?" Hyunjin muttered, confused. 

Abruptly, Seungmin sat up, his eyes showing a mixture of guilt, exhaustion, and embarrassment. 

"Oh, hi. Please don't start asking who I am and why I'm here, I'll answer you as soon as I can function properly," Seungmin said, his voice deep. 

"Ugh, I need some more coffee," Seungmin mumbled out loud unintentionally. 

Hyunjin didn't even know the boy who had been sleeping by his side, but he couldn't help but think he was cute.

"Okay, so long story short, I accidentally hit you in the back of the head when I spiked the ball and one of your teammates, Chan, said I could come along to apologize, which is why I'm here," Seungmin said slowly. Now Hyunjin knew why the back of his head was hurting so bad earlier. 

"I'm really sorry, just so you know," Seungmin said slowly getting up from the uncomfortable Infirmary chair. 

He bowed, and got ready to walk out when he felt Hyunjin's hand wrap around his wrist, effectively stopping Seungmin from leaving. 

"Your apology isn't enough. The least you could do is give me your name and number," Hyunjin said with a pout on his lips. 

Hyunjin could see the blush that colored the other's cheeks completely along with the tips of his ears. 

The other boy sighed before grabbing a tissue and a pen to write his number. 

"Kim Seungmin," Seungmin said as he handed Hyunjin the tissue. 

"Hwang Hyunjin," Hyunjin responded, a genuine smile gracing his lips. 

"I know," Seungmin said, winking at Hyunjin as he walked out. 

Hyunjin felt his cheeks flush red. He barely knew Kim Seungmin but he had to be honest: he was already whipped. 


	2. Starbucks Is For Winners

When Seungmin exited the Infirmary his team was nowhere to be seen, their previous court already occupied again. 

He looked around for his team's red and black uniforms, but when he couldn't spot them, he decided to head to where they had kept their bags.

As he approached the area, he could tell from a distance that their stuff wasn't there. 

He scratched his head and turned around in a circle, genuinely confused at where his team could've gone. He knew they wouldn't leave him, especially since he didn't have his phone. 

He looked around the gym one more time before turning to head back to the Infirmary. 

Seungmin walked back into the Infirmary and went straight to Hyunjin's corner. 

He was a bit surprised to see the other still there, even though he hadn't been gone for more than 5 minutes.

"Hey," Seungmin said as he approached Hyunjin, who had his eyes closed.

Hyunjin must not have heard Seungmin come in because his body tensed up and his eyes shot open, a tiny shout leaving his mouth. Seungmin couldn't help but jump when Hyunjin yelled.

"Fuck. Warn me when you're gonna come in next time," Hyunjin said breathily.

Seungmin laughed. "Nah I don't think I will. You look cute when you're scared." That was not supposed to come out.

Seungmin clapped a hand over his mouth and turned around, unaware of the blush on Hyunjin's face.

They didn't look or speak for a few minutes, an awkward silence filling the air. Soon, Seungmin broke the silence.

"Um, I originally came in here to ask if you know where our teams might be," he spoke quickly, avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah I know where they are. Wait what time is it?" Hyunjin asked getting up slowly. 

Seungmin turned to look at the clock that seemed to appear out of thin air. "4:09. Why'd you ask?" 

Hyunjin groaned. "My game started at 4."

"Well, show me where my team is and then you can be on your way," Seungmin exclaimed, already leaving the Infirmary.

Hyunjin laughed as he caught up. "You don't even know where you're going, slow it down, Minnie."

Seungmin stopped mid- stride and looked at Hyunjin with a meme worthy face. He didn't allow anyone except his teammates and family call him that. But Hyunjin was cute so he let it slide. 

"I'm surprised you're able to walk in a straight line," Seungmin said jokingly.

"Psh, hitting me in the head wasn't that bad. I've had worse." Hyunjin responded, already preparing his reason.

"Okay then. What's worse than me hitting you smack dab in the head?"

"Promise you won't laugh?" Hyunjin questioned.

"Can't make no promises, but continue," Seungmin said breathlessly. Hyunjin's brutal pace was killing him.

"So when I was younger, I played a lot of sports and one time, I thought I could take on the _best_ basketball player in our class." He made air quotations when he said best. "So I tried and I didn't do bad until the dude broke my ankles. Like literally broke my ankles. I didn't know until I couldn't walk a few days later." Hyunjin said as they approached another gym. 

At that Seungmin fell into a crouch, his body shaking with laughter. Hyunjin couldn't help but smile. Seungmin's laugh was unreasonably cute. Hell, everything he knew about Seungmin seemed to be cute.

After he was done laughing, he stood up with a goofy smile on his face. "I kinda feel bad for you, cuz that sounded like it hurt, but I'll give you an A for effort." 

Hyunjin rolled his eyes before grabbing Seungmin's hand to pull him into a much smaller gym. 

Seungmin didn't know why he got all giddy when Hyunjin grabbed his hand. Their hands seemed to fit together perfectly and Seungmin couldn't help but smile.

Inside, both their teams were there. The **JYP Elites** were currently playing and while Seungmin's, **Red Plague** , were on the bleachers watching intently. There was another game going on, but they were solely focused on Hyunjin's team's game. 

Sadly, the two had to part ways now. 

"Hey, I have a game right after yours. I'll have to make sure I don't hit you and your pretty face," Seungmin said, winking before walking off.

Hyunjin felt his whole face warm up at Seungmin's words. He wasn't used to being on the receiving end of compliments or having someone flirt back at him. 

Seungmin quickly made his way over to his team, their focus still on the game.

His team didn't notice him until he was making his way up the bleachers.

"Hyung, where'd you go?" Jeongin asked as Seungmin came up to sit next to him. A few of his teammates turned around to greet him, but the rest were sucked into the game.

"Woojin-hyung didn't tell you?" Jeongin shook his head. "I went to apologize to Hyunjin."

Jeongin tilted his head, confusion evident on his face. "Who's Hyunjin?" 

Seungmin mentally slapped himself. "Hyunjin is the guy who I hit earlier and I went to apologize to him for it." Jeongin still looked confused but now there was a little glint of something in his eyes.

"It took you almost 2 hours to apologize? You sure you only apologized?" He was pointing out Seungmin's unkempt hair.

Seungmin tsked. "Since when was your mind so far in the gutter, Innie?" 

"Since when did the picky Kim Seungmin hook up with random guys?" Jeongin questioned, going a bit too far for Seungmin's liking.

"Jeongin, I did not hook up with him, I simply fell asleep in there with him and now my hair is a mess. Please stop assuming stuff. You're gonna get on someone's bad side if you push them too far with questions like that." Seungmin didn't think he came off as cold, but he definitely ruined the comfortable energy they had earlier.

They both turned their attention to the game except Seungmin wasn't watching the game. 

He was watching Hyunjin. 

The poor boy looked so bored down there and Seungmin felt bad for him. His coach probably said no to him playing and Seungmin knew it was his fault.

Before he really started feeling bad, Hongjoong, their other setter, leaned towards him and asked," do you know who number 3 is?" Seungmin sighed. "Number 3? His name is Seonghwa. He came with me to the Infirmary earlier so," Seungmin shrugged before leaning back to resume his comfortable position.

He heard Hongjoong say thanks, but Seungmin was too busy thinking. What was he thinking about?

Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin with his pretty lips, his cute eye smiles, his _adorable_ laugh, and his calming voice.

Seungmin was so caught in thinking about Hyunjin that he forgot about time and was disappointed when it was time to stretch.

As he followed his teammates into a hallway, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at Hyunjin. Apparently the other had been sneaking glances too.

Their eyes met and Seungmin nearly tripped over his own feet, causing them to break eye contact. He blushed when his teammate Mingi asked if he was okay.

Stretching went by quickly and before he knew it, it was time to start their warm up on the court. 

They had 10 minutes to warm up, but that time went by at an unnervingly quick rate.

Seungmin was excited to start during this game, since the team they were playing, Neo City, had looked pretty good during warm ups.

As he waited on the end line, he saw Hyunjin's team grab their bags and head to the bleachers behind Seungmin's team's court.

His heart rate picked up. He started feeling extra nervous since he knew Hyunjin would be watching him. 

He saw the ref climb his stand before blowing his whistle and motioning for them to come forward. 

They shook hands and Seungmin couldn't help but squint as they walked by. Their neon green and black uniforms were truly hurting his eyes. 

The first set seemed to be a test run of some sort since it was quite slow.

 **Red Plague** won the first set, but only by 3 points.

After they switched sides, it was Neo City's serve, meaning Seungmin had to run out momentarily and wait for them to get a sideout. 

Seven missed balls later, they finally got the ball back, meaning Seungmin was coming in and Jeongin was serving.

Jeongin was a great server but Neo City seemed to have some pretty good Liberos. They returned every serve and every hit, but Seungmin's team played like their name; **Red Plague**.

They were relentless with their attack, their passes smooth, sets high, spikes strong, and tips unpredictable.

Seungmin was on _fire_ . He had gotten at least 5 points off of serves, all of them aces. He also had multiple points off of spikes that were _on the line_. It was quite a risk but it got the job done. He was also happy that he got to play all the way around, even if the back row wasn't his preferred position.

He completely forgot about Hyunjin being in the stands watching.

The score was 24-22, Neo City being down. 

The score became 24-23 after Woojin hit the ball out, letting Neo City get the ball back.

Right as Neo City was about to serve, their coach called a timeout. 

Wooyoung tossed Seungmin his water bottle after noticing how flushed and sweaty Seungmin was with his hair sticking and uniform sticking to him.

The ref blew his whistle, signaling their time was done. "We're Swift, We're Lethal, who are we? **Red Plague!** " And with that they walked back onto the court.

"Lez get it Kim Seungmin!" Hyunjin shouted from the bleachers. Seungmin ran his hand through his damp hair as he rolled his eyes.

He got into his ready position as he waited for the ref to blow his whistle.

The whistle blew and the ball was sailing through the air before you could say "Mine!"

Felix couldn't get back fast enough and the ball went flying off his arms into the bleachers. Seungmin, being a good athlete, ran after the ball since it was still in play.

"Got it!" He shouted as he managed to pass the ball back onto the court. Jeongin passed the ball over but Neo City was determined to win so they spiked the ball into the corner where Seungmin was supposed to be.

He was already running but he had to be faster if he wanted to save that ball and end the game. 

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

Seungmin dove and slid across the floor, his arm outstretched as he made an attempt to get the ball. 

The ball missed his arm completely. 

Instead, it hit his head and it bounced off as it had hit his arm.

Felix got the ball up after that, and Jeongin wound up for a hit, only to lightly tip it and watch it fall in front of the net.

Hyunjin's team and **Red Plague's** tiny bench cheered.

Seungmin got up, completely surprised at the fact that they had just won.

They had to cut their celebration short because they had to shake hands again.

His team started celebrating again, but Seungmin couldn't be bothered to join them. 

He walked off the court and sat next to his bag. His kneepads were already at his ankles and his shoes were ready partially untied.

As he finished unlacing his shoes, someone came up to him, someone from Hyunjin's team.

"Hey kid," Seungmin looked up. "Good game back there. Also, that was a great save, even though it didn't hit your arm." With that, he walked off.

Seungmin forgot how many times he said _thanks_ to the people who told him _good game_.

By the time Seungmin was done getting his stuff off, his team was just now starting to take off theirs.

He sighed. He was _so_ tired and ready to eat and go back to their hotel, and perhaps, get some Starbucks.

He was about to pull out his phone, but Hyunjin seemed to materialize out of thin air next to him.

"Goddamn, Seungmin! You looked great out there!" Hyunjin exclaimed as he grabbed Seungmin by his shoulders and shook him.

Seungmin felt a smile tugging at his lips despite his exhaustion. "Stahpp, I didn't do anything special out there."

Hyunjin looked taken aback, as if Seungmin had offended him. "Excuse me? You _were_ great out there. You know what? I'm gonna record you next time so you can see your awesomeness!"

Seungmin blushed and hid his face in his hands. Hyunjin whined. "Minnie, don't hide your face." There is was. That _adorable_ whiney voice. Seungmin could just see the pout on Hyunjin's lips despite having his eyes covered.

"I'll consider letting you record me tomorrow if you buy me Starbucks."

"When? Now?" Hyunjin questioned. 

"Yeah now," Seungmin said, peeking between his fingers to look at the other.

"Is that okay with your Coach?" Hyunjin asked. He genuinely didn't want Seungmin to get in trouble.

"I dunno, I'll go ask him."

Seungmin made his way over to his coach, who was busy doing something on his phone.

"Excuse me, Coach. Do you think I can ride with him," Seungmin asked, pointing to where Hyunjin was sitting. "Why do you need to ride with him? We have a bus." 

Seungmin sighed. "I wanna get Starbucks for the team for doing a good job today. He can drop me off with the drinks at the hotel."

The Coach thought for a hot second. "This is a one time thing, Kim, but I will allow you to go." Seungmin let out a breath his didn't know he was holding.

"Thanks Coach!" And with that, Seungmin gave Hyunjin a thumbs up and then ran up to him. 

"The only was he would let me go is if we buy Starbucks for the entire team." Hyunjin groaned.

"My pockets are going to be so mad at me by the end of this evening." 

"Bitch who said you're paying alone?" Oops, Seungmin was starting to get a little _too_ comfortable with Hyunjin.

"Ignore the fact that I said that, but yeah, I'm going to pitch in a little bit." Seungmin looked around. "Now, we need to get their orders." Then, he shot off, his phone hanging out if his coat pocket dangerously.

He approached Woojin first. "What would you like from Starbucks, hyung?" Seungmin asked.

"Ummm, I'm gonna get a vanilla bean creme frappuccino." Seungmin hummed. "Good choice."

He walked up to Felix. "Starbucks?" The other had to think for a moment. "I'll go with the double chocolate chip frappuccino. That one is good." Seungmin typed that into his phone and approached Minho.

"Want anything from Starbucks?" At that Minho's eyes seemed to light up. 

"Raspberry lemonade with like, 10 pumps of sweetener. Don't judge me." Seungmin shrugged and continued asking his members.

He was done before he knew it and then he was heading out with Hyunjin.

He followed Hyunjin towards a clean black Tesla Model S that had a beautiful tan leather interior.

"Woah I'm driving with a rich boy? I scored big," Seungmin said jokingly.

"Hah, just because I have Tesla doesn't mean I'm rich. My parents only said yes because they aren't that expensive. Now, would you like to get in?" Hyunjin asked, holding the door open for Seungmin.

The car smelled like essential oils, which wasn't exactly a bad thing, but it was unusual.

Hyunjin got in and turned the car on, cherishing how quiet it was.

Before they pulled off, Hyunjin passed Seungmin the aux cord. "Please don't play any meme related stuff, I've had enough of that recently," he complained.

"Lucky for you, I don't give a shit about memes so there will be no meme content." Seungmin said before plugging in his phone and searching for a Day6 song to play.

In the end, he ended up choosing Deep In Love, one of his favorite songs.

He started singing along with the music, forgetting that he was there Hyunjin entirely. 

Next, he chose a song called Writing On The Wall by Post Malone and some other artists.

Thanks to Seungmin's parent's choices, he could understand the song, whereas Hyunjin could only enjoy it for the beat.

He was a bit disappointed but also happy when they arrived at the Starbucks. Seungmin had truly been waiting all day for this.

"Hi welcome to Starbucks what can I get you two?" The barista named Jaemin asked.

"Well, we have quite a large order so," Hyunjin trailed off.

"There isn't really anyone here so it shouldn't take that long," the barista answered.

Seungmin whipped out his phone and started to read off the drinks that his teammates had requested.

"Are you splitting the payment between cash and card or are you just doing cash?" 

"Cash plus a giftcard. You can empty it because I'll use it all for this order," Seungmin told Jaemin.

Jaemin took the card and swiped it and then Hyunjin paid the rest in cash. 

They sat at a table waiting for their drinks, Seungmin nearly falling asleep and Hyunjin nearly thinking out loud.

Their drinks were done sooner than they expected them to be and as they got in the car, Seungmin could see how hard Hyunjin was trying not the spill a drink.

"Where to?" Hyunjin asked. 

"Give me a minute," Seungmin mumbled as he plugged in his phone and entered the hotel address into the GPS.

Hyunjin started driving and Seungmin started drinking. Seungmin knew that he would crash in a few hours, especially after he takes a shower.

The ride was uneventful and before they knew it, they were at the hotel. 

Seungmin and Hyunjin took the elevator to the 3rd floor at searched for the loudest room. 

They found it and knocked, and was faced with a tired looking Woojin. Well, his face cleared up entirely when he saw the Starbucks in Seungmin and Hyunjin's hands. 

They came in and placed the drinks down, watching as the team immediately gravitated towards them.

Hyunjin and Seungmin stood in the doorway watching the boys become chaotic.

"Well, do I have permission to film the awesome Kim Seungmin?" Hyunjin asked. 

Seungmin rolled his eyes. "Sure. You have my permission." 

Hyunjin nodded his head, looking victorious. "I shall see you tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yup. I'll probably be up at ass o'clock in the morning though, but I'll be fine so don't worry," Seungmin said around the green straw in his mouth.

"Seungmin, stop chewing on the straw, that's not good for you," Hyunjin said, sounding like a mom. "Psh, Yolo," Seungmin said, waving off his words entirely.

Hyunjin smiled. "Welp, I gotta go now." He was about to walk off but Seungmin grabbed at his wrist. He turned around and walked straight into Seungmin's hug.

"Oh?" Hyunjin felt awkward but he hugged Seungmin back anyway. "Thanks for the Starbucks," Seungmin whispered in his ear before letting him go and making a shooting motion with his hand.

Hyunjin laughed and walked out. So much had happened in one day, but he couldn't wait to see what would happen tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has a Shitty ending cuz writing around school and sports is hard I did not proofread the end cuz I'm tired af I may write a chapter 3 but only depending on the feedback on this chapter


	3. Crackheads And Waffles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -HAPPY JEONGIN DAY  
> -This shit took me forever and I apologize  
> -I cut it at 5k words unless this would've had 10k words and that would've taken too long to post

It was a little past 6AM when Seungmin's alarm went off which caused him and his other teammates to wake up. That was one of the worst parts of having roommates. 

Seungmin's roommates, Felix, Wooyoung, and Woojin, all groaned collectively.

"Turn it off," Wooyoung whined from the bunk above Seungmin.

He could barely see, the weak sunbeams barely penetrating the curtains, along with his eyes being crusted with sleep.

He propped himself up on one arm and reached for the nightstand. There, his phone was vibrating and repeating Twice's Fancy. Apparently he had never changed it after he let Felix mess around with it.

He heard Felix half heartedly mumble the lyrics, his mouth not keeping up with his brain. 

"I call showering first!" Seungmin said, his words not sounding exactly right. They only had one bathroom, which was kind of a problem. Four boys, one bathroom.

He threw the blankets off and stretched, enjoying the feeling of peace that overcame him. He was ready to have a good day filled with successful games and Hyunjin.

Wait. 

Hyunjin?

Seungmin groaned. It was much too early to be thinking about him.

He rolled out of bed and quickly slipped on the pair of socks he had left on the floor next to the nightstand, grabbed parts of his uniform, and walked to the bathroom.

He turned on the shower and got in right away, not waiting for the water to warm.

He cringed as the water made contact with his back. He would never get used to taking cold showers, even though they were great ways to wake up.

He quickly washed but he made sure he washed his hair thoroughly since he had been too lazy to wash it properly after yesterday's events.

When he got out, he felt as if he had been slapped by the cold air, (he didn't know how he could feel it) which wasn't a nice feeling.

He put his lotion on as quick as he could before getting partially dressed. He had on his shorts and his compression shirt and was planning on putting his actual volleyball socks on when he was getting ready to go.

As Seungmin was about to walk out, he realized that his hair was messy as hell and he hadn't brushed his teeth.

He brushed his teeth first, since that's quicker than styling hair and then tried to do something with his hair. He had to look presentable in some way.

He tried to remember the stuff he had seen his sister do at the salon she worked at, but was unsuccessful.

After a few tries, he just settled on blow drying it.

Outside, his roommates were sitting at the small, wooden table, all of them preoccupied with their phones. 

"Shower's open for whoever's going next," Seungmin announced as he went to go put his pajamas in his bag. 

He entered the bedroom and grabbed his phone and saw that he had a message. 

He put his clothes away before grabbing his phone and leaving the bedroom to sit with his roommates.

HyunWaii: yoooo gm Minnie

MinnieSota: uhhhh 

MinnieSota: who u

HyunWaii: it's ya boi Hyunjin 

MinnieSota: oh

MinnieSota: wat r u are doin up this early???

HyunWaii: eatin brekkie

Seungmin laughed lightly at the choice of words that Hyunjin had chosen. He felt tempted to ask who had taught him that but decided that that was a conversation for another time.

HyunWaii: hbu

MinnieSota: waitin for my teammates to shower so we can go and eat

HyunWaii: RIP

HyunWaii: n e way

HyunWaii: wat time u play

MinnieSota: I dunno. Only our coach know and he ain't told us cuz we haven't seen him yet

HyunWaii: oof thats weird

MinnieSota: ik

HyunWaii: n e way 

HyunWaii: I gtg b4 I get yelled at

HyunWaii: so ttyl

MinnieSota: c ya

Seungmin placed his phone down and stared at the large painting that was hung on the wall. It was a painting of the night sky that was dotted with stars.

He couldn't help but think of Hyunjin when he looked at it. The deep hues of blue reminded him of his hair, but the general location remained him of Hyunjin even more.

To Seungmin, Hyunjin was like a diamond amongst a coal mine, and the painting was something beautiful in a common, ordinary hotel room. It wasn't often that Seungmin meets cute, athletic, and genuine people.

He didn't realize how long he was staring at the painting until his teammates were ready to go down to eat breakfast. 

Seungmin looked at his phone to check the time and saw that it was 6:44. They didn't have to be at breakfast until 7, but it was always good to be early.

They left their room and since their coach prohibited them from taking the elevator, they had to walk down a whole 3 flights of stairs.

When they reached the lobby, they had to search for the restaurant. When they found it, Seungmin was quite surprised at the dining room's appearance.

It was a large spacious area with pristine, white tiled floors, tables made of dark polished wood paired with cushioned black chairs, and paintings covering every inch of wall.

The food smelled amazing and Seungmin had already spotted the food tables at the end of the hall. 

"Should we get a table and wait for the rest of the team or should we just eat now?" Felix asked as he looked around.

"Let's get a table and wait. If they don't come down by 7 or later, we're getting our food." Woojin stepped forward and scanned the place for a table that was big enough to fit all 10 of them.

There was a surprising amount of people in there so when Woojin spotted a table along the wall, they had to maneuver their way through crowds.

They sat down and waited for a bit. 

After 5 minutes Wooyoung texted Jeongin, asking where they were.

Seungmin had gotten bored quite quickly so he shot Hyunjin a text to see if he was available to chat.

MinnieSota: Hyunjin 

MinnieSota: wyd

Hyunwaii: gettin ready to go

MinnieSota: oh

MinnieSota: wat times ur first game????

Hyunwaii: 745 but I gotta pick up some peeps 

Minniesota: like the candy :))

HyunWaii: ………..

Hyunwaii: I admire ur attempt but plz 

Hyunwaii: never again

MinnieSota: rip my joke

HyunWaii: lmao I'm sorry 

MinnieSota: nah u gud

HyunWaii: but have you eaten yet?

MinnieSota: nope

HyunWaii: diixixixf you're kidding right

MinnieSota: n o

Seungmin sighed. It was almost 7 and there was still no word from their team.

Just as Seungmin was about to resume his conversation with Hyunjin, Woojin's phone started to ring.

"Hey, Joong." Seungmin couldn't hear over the chatter of the crowds so he sat back and continued to text Hyunjin.

MinnieSota: udydhjdifj 

HyunWaii: ?????

MinnieSota: I'm hangry >:(

HyunWaii: dfthbc

HyunWaii: y u so cute

MinnieSota: djdufu shaddup

MinnieSota: keep your eyes on the road

HyunWaii: only cuz u told me to ;)

Seungmin giggled and placed his phone down. Thanks to Hyunjin, his mood had increased a tiny bit and he wasn't as hangry as he was before.

Seungmin turned to look at Felix, who was currently engrossed in some game he was playing on his phone. 

"Lix, what's Woojin-Hyung talking about?" Seungmin just wanted to know what the older was talking about and if it included anything about them eating.

"I dunno." He hadn't even looked up. 

Seungmin sighed. "Do you even know who he's talking to?" He knew the answer to that question, but he wanted to know if Felix had been paying any attention to his surroundings.

"Uh," he paused his game. "HongJoong-Hyung, I think. I'm not completely sure though." Then, he resumed his game. 

Seungmin hummed before looking around the hall. He was quite bored since he couldn't eat or socialize with his teammates, since they were all sucked into their phones. 

Seungmin was in the mood to socialize, which wasn't unusual, but there was currently no one to socialize with. He thought about getting up to make conversation with a stranger, but then decided that he didn't have the guts for that. 

He turned on his phone and went through it, looking for something to do. The games he usually played looked quite boring, so he went to his messages.

Nobody had texted him, sadly, and he thought about the fact that he could've still been sleeping right now. 

He needed some sort of social interaction, and before he knew it, he was clicking on Hyunjin's blue contact icon and pressing call.

His phone rang twice before Hyunjin picked up.

"YAH! WHAT THE HELL JISUNG! YOU BETTER-" Seungmin held the phone away from his ear, since he still wanted to be able to hear. He recognized Hyunjin's voice (Seungmin didn't know that Hyunjin was capable of being that loud), but not the voices in the background.

Seungmin looked at his phone before slowly bringing back towards his ear. 

"Seungmin I am so sorry you had to hear all of that. One of my friends spilled their coffee-" "I DIDN'T SPILL THE COFFEE, THE ROAD DID!" An unknown voice yelled from behind Hyunjin.

"JUST FUCKING ADMIT IT. YOU SPILLED YA DAMN COFFEE AND NOW ITS YOUR FUCKIN RESPONSIBILITY TO CLEAN MY FUCKIN SEATS!" Seungmin sighed, still holding the phone up to his ear.

He had never taken Hyunjin as the type of person that cusses every other word. 

All the yelling was quite annoying and Seungmin felt as if he was in the car with them. 

"Hyunjin." No response. " _Hyunjin_." He raised his voice a little bit this time, but because the other was still yelling, his attempts fell on deaf ears.

"Lix, I'm gonna head out for a quick second." He heard Felix mumble something but he still hadn't looked up from his phone.

He got up and looked around, trying to spot the large arched doorway that led to the lobby. When he spotted it, he quickly, but politely, made his way through the crowd.

After what seemed like hours, he finally made his way outside into the lobby. He didn't think he would feel so relieved when he left the hall. 

"Hyunjin, you still there?" Seungmin spoke into the phone.

"Seungmin? Don't tell me you heard all of that." Hyunjin sounded...embarrassed? 

"Honestly, I wasn't even paying attention, but I did hear you yelling and cursing like a sailor, which I didn't expect from someone like you," Seungmin said, taking in his surroundings.

"You get used to after a while," said an unknown voice. 

"Hey!" Hyunjin exclaimed. "By the way, you're on speaker," someone else said.

Seungmin was getting extremely confused. "Hyunjin, how many people are in the car with you?" Silence filled the line for a second and Seungmin wouldn't be surprised if Hyunjin was counting his passengers.

"Three. I had to count," Hyunjin responded after a second. 

Seungmin didn't want to seem nosey, but before he knew it, he was asking for their names.

"Since when were you so nosey, Minnie?" Hyunjin asked. Seungmin could just hear the smirk on his face.

"Psh, shut that pretty mouth of yours, Jinnie. We ain't even known each other that long," Seungmin commented, his filter nonexistent. He wasn't expecting to get such a chaotic reaction from that simple sentence.

Hyunjin's friends were laughing, well, more or less cackling and the sound was deafening. He held his phone away from his ear for a second time this morning.

Throughout their entire laughing fit, Seungmin was wondering what was so funny.

"Y'all good?" He asked when he thought they were actually done laughing.

"Yeah, we're more than good!" Someone said before resuming their laughing.

"You good, Jinnie?" Someone from the backseat asked.

"Yeah, Jinnie. You good?" Seungmin teased as he wandered off searching for a more secluded area of the lobby.

"Oh my gosh, I think he's broken. Dude you broke him!" One of Hyunjin's friends shouted, pretty much making Seungmin deaf in one ear.

"What you mean?" Seungmin questioned, speaking in a more comfortable way.

"He pulled over and we're sitting on the side of the road and he's hiding his face from us. I think he's uh, you know," someone stuttered out. 

"Go on," Seungmin urged, truly wanting to hear about Hyunjin's current situation.

"I, um, think he's har-" "NOPE I'M FINE. LET'S GET BACK ON THE ROAD," Hyunjin shouted. 

Seungmin knew what the other was going to say and he was quite surprised to hear that his words and tone of voice had that kind of effect on someone.

"Y'all some crazy bitches. Wait, someone else is calling me. I'll be right back unless it's important," Seungmin said before switching to answer the incoming call.

"Min, where you at?" Wooyoung asked, sounding breathless.

"I'm in the lobby. Didn't Felix tell you?" 

"Felix told me, but I don't see you out here," Wooyoung answered hesitantly.

"Fuck. I'm sorry, Woo. I left the main area and kinda just, wandered off, but don't worry, I'll be back in 5 minutes, hopefully," Seungmin said, mumbling the end to himself.

"Ah, okay. By the way, we can eat since Coach and the rest of the team are almost ready to meet us down here, so I advise you hurry up," Wooyoung said before hanging up, not even saying bye.

Seungmin sighed for 2 reasons. 

One was because of Wooyoung's lack of farewells and two, was the fact that he didn't really know where he was. He didn't think he strayed that far, but his lack of direction told him he did.

He started with trying to find things he recognized from his walk to his current area, but either Seungmin was in luck, or it was just a coincidence that a staff member walked past him.

"Excuse me, sir." the staff member turned around. "Can you lead me to the dining hall, please?" Seungmin asked, trying to sound polite even though he was starving.

"Of course! Follow me," he said before setting a brisk pace.

"Ah, can you slow down a bit, please?" Seungmin asked. He knew he played hard yesterday, but his legs were usually never this sore.

The staff member slowed down and asked,"did the stairs get you?" Seungmin was quite confused at the question, but answered it to the best of his ability.

"No, it's not the stairs. I had a volleyball tournament yesterday and I'd much rather be sleeping right now than getting ready to go to the second part of it."

"Ah, I see. I have a friend named Chenle who played volleyball but he _insisted_ on taking a break from it. He said he wanted to try basketball instead. My name's Jeno, by the way," the staff member, Jeno, said.

"What?! Basketball over volleyball?! How could he?" Seungmin asked, being overly dramatic.

"Apparently," Jeno shrugged. "Anyway, here we are." 

Seungmin smiled and thanked the other before heading into the dining hall where it looked twice as crowded compared to when he came in.

He sighed before whipping out his phone to text Hyunjin.

MinnieSota: FINALLY 

MinnieSota: I CAN EAT

HyunWaii: SuRpRisE

MinnieSota: you weren't supposed to respond 

MinnieSota: keep your eyes on the road 

Seungmin pocketed his phone, before realizing he had no pockets which meant he had to put in between his underwear and hip as a substitution for a pocket. He patted it a few times to make sure it was secure before getting ready to make an attempt at getting through the crowds.

Many "excuse mes" later, he finally made it to his teammates' table where they were just starting on their food.

"Seungmin! You made it!" Wooyoung said through a mouth full of pancake.

"Yeah, I'm alive but hangry. Do they have waffles up there?" Seungmin asked while slowly leaning on the table.

Everyone on the team knew that Seungmin loved himself some waffles and would kill anyone and everyone if they tried to take them from him. 

"Ummm, I don't know. If they do have some up there, you should go quickly because that line is only getting longer," Wooyoung said before digging back into his pancakes.

Without another word, Seungmin started making his way over to the multitude of tables that were set up with food covering the entire surface.

He got in line and waited. The line was moving extremely slow and Seungmin was getting quite impatient.

He never had the best temper but Hangry Seungmin wasn't a nice Seungmin. 

It took a century but he finally got to the first table where the plates and bowls were set. He debated if he should get a plate and a bowl, the bowl being for the fruit and the plate for everything else. Then, he just decided that that would be too much to carry so he settled on a plate.

He slowly made his way down the line, getting himself some bacon, fruit, eggs, a roll, and a single pancake. He was yet to reach the end of the tables so hadn't lost hope of finding himself some waffles.

Near the end of the tables, he found the desserts where he spotted cinnamon rolls and miniature muffins. He felt tempted to grab both, but since he had things to do and games to win, he decided against it. 

Seungmin had reached the end of the table and he hadn't seen any waffles, and to say he was disappointed was an understatement; he was devastated.

"What kind of breakfast buffet doesn't have waffles?" He asked himself as he walked back to his team's table.

There, the rest of his team had seemed to appear out of nowhere. Either he had been gone for a while or his teammates were just fast. 

Seungmin sat down and then realized that he had no utensils whatsoever. He wasn't even surprised at this point, he was too upset over the lack of waffles that this place seemed to have.

He got up and looked around and headed towards the first table. Maybe he had missed them while debating over a plate or bowl.

Seungmin knew he was blind without his contacts or glasses, but he was nearsighted so he shouldn't have had any problem seeming the silverware that was _all up_ in his face. He face palmed and grabbed his utensils before getting ready to head back to his table.

As he was making his way through the crowds, he saw someone that looked like that staff dude, Jeno, he met earlier. He was pushing a cart, and by the looks of it, he was struggling.

Seungmin was up in the air about deciding to help, but it was an immediate yes when he spotted what was on the cart.

There were 2 waffle makers, a dispenser that held waffle batter, a stack of plastic cups, and 2 stacks of saucers on the bottom compartment.

Seungmin saw the stuff and immediately started making his way over to help Jeno.

Seungmin tapped on Jeno's shoulder when he managed to get close and he wasn't expecting Jeno to get scared when he did that. 

"Need some help?" Seungmin asked, already placing his hand on the cart handle next to Jeno's. 

"I'd hate to admit it but yeah, I do need some help. Also, if you're going to push the cart, beware of the fucked up tire," Jeno said. "It's the front left one."

Seungmin peered down at the tire and saw nothing visibly wrong with it and shrugged. 

Jeno took hold of the front of the cart and slowly but surely made progress. Having the other help was quite nice.

"Do I get waffles for helping you?" Seungmin questioned when they finally made it to their destination.

Jeno laughed lightly. "Is that the only reason why you helped me? To get waffles?"

Seungmin shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Why do _you_ think I helped?"

"Honestly, I think you just wanted these waffles." Seungmin snapped his fingers and made finger guns and pointed them at Jeno.

"Correct! Now enough with the chit chat, let's get some grub goin," Seungmin said, rubbing his hands together.

Jeno asked Seungmin a series of questions concerning Seungmin's experience with waffle makers and since he was starving, he rushed Jeno through every question.

"Okay. So now that we've got the batter in, we just have to wait now." Seungmin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. How long?"

"Considering how thick you made them, I would say about 6 to 7 minutes." Jeno said with a smile.

"Ugh, that's too long." Seungmin complained, staring at the waffle maker as if that would speed up the process.

"Welp, that's your fault. I told you not to make them too thick," Jeno said with a shrug.

Seungmin didn't respond since he was currently staring holes into the waffle maker.

"By the way, I never caught your name," Jeno while looking around the hall. "Kim Seungmin. Or 22. I don't really care, you can call me either." 

"I'm assuming you're #22 on your volleyball team."

"Yup," Seungmin responded, eyes still on the waffle maker.

"What team?" Jeno asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Red Plague. Weird name, I know." Seungmin said, taking his eyes away from the waffle maker for a split second.

"That's not a weird name at all. It's just a bit unusual but it's cool. My team's name was Neo City, which was kind of a weird name but it was cool so I didn't question it."

Seungmin actually looked up from the waffle maker when Jeno mentioned Neo City. "Neo City? We played them yesterday!"

"You did?! Did you see #5? He's a middle hitter and tall, but he looks like a baby," Jeno exclaimed.

Seungmin didn't recall seeing #5, but he did know he saw #19, only because Woojin went up to him after the game to talk.

"I don't recall seeing #5, but I did see #19. Tall, weird body proportions, but cute and looks like a puppy. He had blonde hair in this weirdass hair cut too."

"Ooh, you saw Jungwoo-Hyung. He's good isn't he?" Jeno said, while flipping the waffles.

"He's not bad, but he probably could've hit harder than what he did in the game." Jeno nodded. "But #14 was _really_ good. Like, our best Libero was struggling to get those hits. We were lucky we even won that game in 2 sets!" Seungmin exclaimed.

"#14?" Jeno looked confused.

"Y'know, on the taller side, has dimples, and his face kinda looks like a loaf of bread." At this point, Seungmin didn't even know what was coming out of his mouth. Hell, he didn't even know how he knew #14 had dimples nor did he know why he associated his face with a loaf of bread.

"Uhhhh what position did he play?" Jeno asked, still not having a single clue on who Seungmin was talking about.

"Outside."

"OH! You're talking about Jaehyun-Hyung!" Seungmin shrugged. "Apparently."

Jeno nodded and hummed, looking back at the waffle makers to take them out. "But yeah, he was a good hit-Oh! Are the waffles ready?" Seungmin's mind went from volleyball to waffles in less than a second.

"Yeah?" Seungmin made an attempt to grab one, but Jeno smacked his hand and told him to get a plate.

"Damn, did you have to slap my hand so hard?" 

"Indeed I did."

"Why?"

"Because you have things to do today and you don't need to be walking around cradling a burnt hand." Jeno had a point there so Seungmin simply gave up trying to argue.

Seungmin sighed at grabbed a plate from the bottom of the cart and held it out at Jeno. "Can I get my waffles now?"

"Indeed you can," he responded while grabbing a pair of tongs and then putting the waffles on Seungmin's waiting plate.

"Syrup?" Seungmin could _not_ eat waffles without syrup. Only a monster of a person would do that.

"Oh. Uhh." Jeno fumbled around before reaching into his apron to grab two small containers of syrup.

"Oooh, this looks expensive," Seungmin said, eyeing the container and its contents.

"Trust me, it is. Now go eat. I don't doubt that your team is already done eating," Jeno said before turning to rearrange the cart.

"Well then, thanks for the waffles," Seungmin said with a small smile.

"OH! Also, good luck at your tournament and don't get hurt." Seungmin's smile widened at that and he thanked Jeno before making his way through the crowd to get back to the team table.

Back at the table, most of his teammates were either done or halfway through. He made his way to his seat and quickly started eating. 

He slowly but surely made his way through his food and before he knew it, he was drizzling syrup onto his waffles and shoving the first piece into his mouth.

Seungmin could've moaned, but instead he settled on shoving another piece of the beautiful waffle into his mouth.

 _"This stuff should be illegal,"_ Seungmin thought to himself. He had been expecting them to be mediocre, but that wasn't the case.

"Don't take forever, Kim," Coach said, causing Seungmin, Woojin, and Hongjoong to look up. "Not you two. I'm talking to the one who's still eating."

Seungmin nodded and shoved another piece of waffle into his mouth. While he was chewing, he somehow managed to hear Jeongin ask Coach what time their game was.

"8:30." 

Seungmin sighed. Hyunjin's game was at 7:45 and it was hard to tell how long a volleyball game would last, so it was more likely that he wouldn't have a chance to greet or watch Hyunjin.

If he was lucky, they would arrive at the field house at 8, giving Seungmin a nice 15 minutes or so to watch the other play.

He sighed and continued to eat, feeling a bit sad when he saw that he only had a fourth of his second waffle left.

He took the rest of his syrup (which wasn't a lot) and poured it on his last piece, successfully drowning it.

He stabbed the last piece and stared at it for a quick second before taking a large bite out of it. He wanted to _try_ to savor it, even though he didn't exactly have the time for it. 

"Seungmin, just eat the damn waffle," Woojin said before grabbing the fork out of Seungmin's hand and feeding him.

"Now, go get dressed." Woojin grabbed Seungmin's plate along with his own before leaving to put the plates where they were supposed to go.

Seungmin rose from his chair and stretched, feeling satisfied and a bit giddy. It could've been the sugar from the waffles or the pregame nerves _or_ the thought of being able to see Hyunjin play.

The second and third options were probably it, but he paid them no mind as he made his way through the crowd and to his room.

When he entered his room, he went straight to their room and put his uniform on. Then he grabbed his phone to check the time. 7:36 and they were leaving at 7:45, meaning that Seungmin only had a little time before it was time to go.

He ran into the bathroom to brush his teeth because it only seemed appropriate to. 

It was 7:39 when he finished brushing his teeth and as he walked out, Felix came running into the room. 

Seungmin was going to ask why he was rushing, but after he saw that the other wasn't in uniform yet, did he realize.

His phone vibrated, signifying that Seungmin had got a text. He opened it and saw that it was from Jongho.

JongHoHoHo: u got 6 min

MinnieSota: oky ill be down in a sec wit Lix

JongHoHoHo: u better 

JongHoHoHo: u know how annoying coach is when we late

Seungmin groaned and nodded. "FELIX, HURRY THE FUCK UP!" Seungmin yelled as he approached their bedroom to grab his volleyball bag and personalized warm-up jacket.

"I'LL BE OUT IN A SECOND," Felix yelled back as Seungmin opened the bedroom door, not caring that Felix was in the middle of changing.

"I'll be waiting _right here_ ," Seungmin said as he planted himself in the doorway of the bedroom, watching Felix throw on his jersey and jacket and then shove his kneepads and shoes into his bag.

"Okay, I'm ready," Felix said, walking right past Seungmin and towards the door.

"You got a portable?" Seungmin asked as Felix was about to step into the corridor. Felix stopped and sighed before backtracking to the bedroom to grab his red portable charger.

" _Now_ I'm ready," Felix said with Seungmin right behind him as he stepped into the hallway.

"Time?" 

"7:42."

"OH SHIT WE GOTTA GO!" Felix exclaimed as he dragged Seungmin towards the torturous stairway.

They raced down the stairs in record time, and entered the lobby with flushed, red faces.

The entire team turned around to look at them while Coach's eyes stayed trained on his phone.

"Wow, you're lucky," Jongho whispered to Seungmin. "Y'all made it down here with 2 minutes to spare."

"Do we have everybody?" Coach asked, finally looking up from his phone and at his players. 

The nine of them spread out to form a line so that Coach could see all of them and take attendance. Apparently they only did this because Coach had nearly been left when he was younger.

"We're all here and the bus is waiting outside. You know where to put your bags." At that point Seungmin just stopped listening. He could care less about where to put his stuff and what to do when he got to the gym. What he did care about was seeing Hyunjin play. Hyunjin had been hyping him up _so much_ after he had watched Seungmin play, and it only felt right to do the same for Hyunjin.

He could've been thinking about Hyunjin for _hours_ , but his thoughts were interrupted when Felix tapped on his shoulder and motioned for Seungmin to get moving.

Finally, they left the hotel and boarded the bus.

As soon as Seungmin sat down, he got on his phone, put in his airpods and started playing music. 

Music always solved his pregame nerves. Either it gave him confidence or just gave him something else to think about. 

Hr checked the time and gasped. It was only 7:46, meaning he would probably have time to see Hyunjin play. 

He had never been this excited to see someone play volleyball, not even Jeongin, who was his volleyball buddy and best friend. 

Seungmin took a deep breath and relaxed, ignoring his teammates' shenanigans. He looked outside and looked at the buildings and trees that seemed to merge as he passed. 

In less than 20 minutes, he would be able to see Hyunjin play and give him the same energy Hyunjin had given him at his last game. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared for the actual game and more action next chapter along with the development of SeungJin's weird flirty/platonic relationship.


End file.
